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So hopefully you are spending some time with family and/or friends on this little holiday break. For those of you taking a few extra days off and possibly running into some indoor time with the possibility of rain (at least here in Pittsburgh), I figured I’d give you some good ole’ Patriotic movies to watch.

To celebrate July 4, here are some great movies about the awesomeness of America. No movie poster pics today, I’m operating on my phone.

To Kill A Mockingbird

I love Gregory Peck in this movie. And I love the theme of a white lawyer fighting for the rights and life of a black man in the Depression era south. This movie came out in 1962, which would have been a dangerous time in the Civil Rights Movement. While African Americans and some sympathetic white Americans were in the middle of the fight for equal rights there were a number of politicians and organizations fighting to keep them down.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

First off, for those who don’t know, Jimmy Stewart is from the SW PA area, a town outside of Pittsburgh, so I automatically love his movies. Mr. Smith is appointed to a spot in the Senate, filling a vacancy. He soon runs into political machinations and corruption and fights for what he believes in. This is to remind all of us that when we say things like “the good old days”, political corruption is nothing new.

Top Gun

Ok, a non-serious movie finally. The music, the flying, the motorcycle, and oh, the Volleyball scene with a young, hot Val Kilmer! I love this movie, and it has so many great one-liners.

Dazed and Confused

I include this for this two simple reasons. Number one, this is a great coming of age movie. Second is for this quote from their teacher: “OK, guys, one more thing. Hey, this summer when you’re being inendated with all this bi-centennial, fourth of July, bru-ha-ha just remember what you’re celebrating. That’s the fact that a bunch of slave-owning aristocratic white males didn’t want to pay their taxes.”

Born on the Fourth of July

I was probably too young the first time I watched this Oliver Stone movie to really get it. I watched it again when I was much older and was better able to understand how scary coming home from war is. After witnessing the atrocities of war, experiencing life altering injuries and suffering from PTSD before that was something that was really diagnosed, it’s easy to see how Tom Cruise’s real-life character Ron Kovic became an anti-war, human rights activist.

Independence Day

Yes, the Aliens attacked the whole world, but of course it was us American’s who finally destroyed them with our awesome technology. Because I’m a bit of an IT geek, even though the thought of this is preposterous, it was an interesting idea at the time.

Saving Private Ryan

Even though I can’t imagine sending a whole platoon out to save one person, this is a great WWII movie.

The Patriot

A Mel Gibson movie before he went totally crazy. I have to be honest, the main reason I watched this was for Heath Ledger. How funny, two Aussies playing Americans fighting in the American Revolution